


You, Me, and This Whole Bottle of Wine

by NorthernGhost



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Casually committing crimes for your date, F/F, Feel-good, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26775766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernGhost/pseuds/NorthernGhost
Summary: Talanah only provides the best for her date.
Relationships: Aloy/Talanah Khane Padish
Comments: 10
Kudos: 46





	You, Me, and This Whole Bottle of Wine

**Author's Note:**

> It's Feel Good Friday, now.
> 
> I just decided.
> 
> Enjoy.

The sound of a loud knocking echoed throughout the apartment as Aloy sat bolt upright in her bed, blinking at the sleep that still clung to her eyes until she finally rubbed at them forcefully, glancing around wildly until she managed to slam her hand down over the Focus on the small table beside her bed. As she slid the device beside her ear, the interface came to life around her, but her eyes focused on the time in the box to her right, prompting her to curse under her breath and scramble off the mattress.  


“Shit, shit, shit…”  


She staggered her way to her bureau, throwing the doors open and staring at the options within for several long moments before ripping a top made of red and sky blue Carja silks from its hanger and tossing it onto the bed behind her. Several moments later, she had managed to rip the cotton top she had fallen asleep in off, pulling on the nicer one before also swapping the loose, fabric leggings for a pair of tight-fitting, dark, fabric leggings that stopped at her knees and a stitched, red fabric skirt, securing the top underneath a gold, silk belt before glancing in the mirror hanging on the inside of the open door to her left.  


“Could be worse,” she muttered, shrugging before slamming the bureau closed to the sound of more loud knocking. “Coming!”  


The redhead made her way down the stairs to the lower floor of her apartment, a slight skip in her step even after she reached the lower floor. As she came to a stop before the front door, her hand on the latch, she took a deep breath, and pulled on it, throwing open the wooden portal before leaning on the interior of it nonchalantly.  


“Sorry, didn’t hear you,” she quipped, smirking.  


Talanah paused, her eyes scanning up and down the redhead before a smirk of her own tugged at her lips.  


“Did you, now?”  


“What?”  


“ _You_ —of all people—happened to just be lounging around like this…”  


Talanah reached forward, tugging at the sleeve of the silk top as Aloy twisted away, scoffing.  


“I don’t think so.”  


“Well, if that’s how today is going to be,” Aloy sighed, motioning to close the door, but the raven-haired Carja quickly braced her hand against it, stopping her. “Change your mind?”  


“I brought a gift?”  


The redhead’s eyebrows raised as Talanah reached into a satchel at her hip, drawing something from within before holding it out before her. Aloy tentatively took the glass bottle from her, turning it over in her hands as she stared down at the crimson and gold labelling wrapped about it.  


“Buy this on your way?” the redhead said, glancing up at her.  


“What if I said I got it from somewhere… _special_?”  


Aloy raised her eyebrows as Talanah stepped forward, leaning against the outside portion of the apartment door.  


“From somewhere… dark and--restricted--in the Palace…?”  


“Talanah Khane Padish,” the redhead scoffed, “are you saying you stole this from the Sun King’s reserve?”  


“Maybe…”  


Aloy smirked, quickly reaching forward and grabbing the raven-haired woman’s arm and pulling her into the apartment, kicking the door closed behind her before making her way toward the kitchenette. As she placed the bottle on the counter, she spun around to find Talanah following a few steps behind her, one eyebrow raised.  


“Does that mean you accept?” she asked.  


“Maybe I just want to make sure you aren’t arrested by the royal guard on the street,” the redhead shot back, sidling closer to her with a mischievous grin.  


“Well, there’s no one else here but me… you…” Talanah said, suddenly slipping forward and wrapping one arm behind Aloy’s back to a soft, startled sound from the redhead, “…and this… very red… bottle of wine…”  


A grin tugged at Aloy’s lips as Talanah raised her eyebrows, her honey brown eyes searching the gold-green hazel before her for several moments before the redhead suddenly placed a quick kiss on her cheek.  


“Sounds like quite the night,” she said softly, winking before twisting out of Talanah’s arm and slipping toward her kitchenette, quickly pulling open the drawers as she searched for a corkscrew within them.  


The Carja sighed, dropping her arm to her side as she approached the opposite side of the counter, leaning against it as she waited for the redhead to finish her search. After several long moments of frantic shuffling and slamming, Aloy let out a victorious cry, pulling the metal tool from its hiding place and approaching the bottle.  


“Almost feels like a crime to open it,” she remarked, pausing as the tip of the corkscrew touched the actual cork, itself.  


“I mean… everything involving it is a crime, at this point…” Talanah shrugged.  


Aloy smirked before twisting the tool inside it, stopping once a sizeable portion had burrowed into the cork before pulling on it with all of her strength. The raven-haired woman watched in amusement as the redhead strained and struggled against the cork for several long moments, until it suddenly came free with a loud pop. They both recoiled, but the redhead recovered first, stepping forward and inhaling deeply through her nose over the open top.  


“How many levels down did you go to find this one?” she sighed, glancing up at Talanah with a smirk.  


“As many as I could,” the Carja shot back, grinning. “Only the best for my date.”  


Aloy let out a sudden cough, covering her mouth with one hand before turning and attempting to pull the cork off the corkscrew. The Carja sighed, slipping around the counter and sliding beside the redhead, her hip coming to rest against hers even as Aloy tried her best to conceal the incredible blush that had overtaken her face.  


“I’m sorry, I can not call it—”  


“No, no, it…” Aloy said quickly before trailing off, sighing heavily as she gave up and tossed the corkscrew onto the far counter. “Just getting used to it.”  


Talanah smiled softly, sliding one hand behind her back and gently pressing the heel of her palm into the small of Aloy’s back, making small circles against the tense muscles she found there.  


“What did the Nora call it?”  


The redhead shrugged, but didn’t shy away from her touch as she remained in place.  


“There wasn’t really a word for… people before they were… uh… mates.”  


Talanah nodded slowly, continuing her motions as she subtly pressed her side more into the redhead’s.  


“So… sort of an ambiguous area?”  


The redhead shivered for a moment before turning toward the Carja, swallowing nervously.  


“Can… can we be… just… our… area?”  


Talanah paused for a moment before smiling softly and nodding.  


“Sure,” she said, rubbing her hand in a small circle against Aloy’s back for a moment before glancing over at the open bottle behind them. “As long as right now it’s in the proximity of this wine.”  


The redhead laughed, moving to slip away before Talanah’s other arm quickly shot forward, blocking her path and pulling Aloy toward her, prompting the redhead to raise her eyebrows. The Carja paused for a moment before tentatively leaning forward. To her surprise and relief, the redhead leaned forward, as well, meeting her in the kiss for several long seconds before pulling back, once again.  


“Did you want some of that wine or not?” she whispered.  


The Carja smirked, nodding, finally releasing Aloy as she made her way toward the nearby cabinets, pulling them open until she managed to find two glasses, removing them and returning to the counter. As she slid the vessels into place, Talanah lifted the wine bottle, pouring each of them half-full before replacing it on the counter. Aloy quickly took her glass, lifting it to her nose and inhaling deeply, once again, before taking a tentative sip.  


“Oh…” she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment as she rubbed her lips together. “You might have ruined Carja wine for me, forever.”  


“Oh?” Talanah shot back, smirking.  


“If it’s not this good, I might not want it.”  


“Ah, the curse of the Carja…”  


Aloy glanced toward her curiously as Talanah shot her a devilish smirk.  


“We only get better with age.”  


The redhead rolled her eyes before taking another sip of her drink.  


“I haven’t kicked you out, yet,” she shot back.  


“No, and I am appreciative of every second you don’t.”  


Aloy paused for a moment before lowering her glass, a conflicted expression twisting her features. Talanah took a sip from her drink, but stared back at her with concern.  


“Talanah, I… you know I’m not…”  


The redhead paused again, inhaling deeply as she closed her eyes.  


“You know I’m happy with you, right?”  


The Carja froze with her glass halfway to her mouth before she slowly lowered it, a small smile twitching at the corners of her lips.  


“I’ve hoped.”  


The redhead’s face quickly turned nearly as red as her hair as she sipped at her glass, once again.  


“Is this really that strong?” Talanah quipped, lifting her glass to stare at the dark red liquid inside. “You’re already speaking truths to me two sips in…”  


Aloy rolled her eyes exasperatedly as the Carja laughed, swirling the liquid in her glass.  


“I felt like you might believe me more, now,” she managed.  


Talanah placed her glass on the counter before sidling forward, carefully sliding both arms around the redhead until her hands came to rest in the small of her back.  


“I believe you anytime,” she said. “I just like hearing you speak your mind… especially when it has good things to say about me.”  


Aloy shot her an admonishing look as the raven-haired woman smirked, but leaned in for another kiss, the redhead accepting it readily. As Talanah began to pull apart, once again, Aloy refused to relent, wrapping her arms behind her back and tugging her in close. The moment began to quickly evolve into something much more heated, until they both came to a sudden pause, lips separating as they both breathed heavily for a moment or two.  


“We should finish our drinks,” the Carja whispered. “The wine’ll go bad if we don’t, now.”  


Aloy nodded, leaning in to brush her lips against Talanah’s for a moment before pressing a gentle kiss against her lips. When they finally pulled apart, once again, the Carja leaned her forehead forward, pressing it against the redhead’s.  


“And you know… a good red is a terrible thing to waste.”


End file.
